This was an exploration into techniques of digital fabrication. As a class, we began by studying different topographies, not with the goal of replicating them, but researching their means
of formation and using the digital medium to explore manipulation of fields in a 3D space. I
chose to study the formations of sand caused by natural (wind) and unnatural (footsteps) forces. By analyzing the cause and effect patterns on these nomadic topographical shifts, I hoped
to find a means to create an original pattern and apply into a spatial and faรงadal medium.
Initially, the goal was to apply these learned techniques into a physical context: a shipping container
space in which we were allowed to envelope the interior or puncture the exterior in whichever way we
chose. The setting was meant to take place during the internationally renown Art Basel, so the focus
shifted to spatial formulation with a specific series of programs, which would include space for display, seating, and interaction. However the proposed surfaces were more than a series of pushes and
pulls. It became a series of responses to external influences. People passing by, varied lines of sight
and height, larger areas for display versus smaller viewports, etc. With the ideal parameters set, the
next step was to create a series of iterations that would eventually transform into an overall envelope.
Initially, the overall surface consisted of a single panel with a simple Voronoi-type pattern. The ideal
behind the surface condition was that it would adapt to the different programs inherent in an art gallery setting. This meant the pattern would need to transform over a period of time over the span of
the surface. The techniques learned in the initial typological studies, specifically the blend, proved
critical to the overall prototype. The process of creating the skin was in itself a learning process, researching how actual skin folds and shifts to stimuli and adapts to circumstances. One pattern led to
another, one row was sewn onto another, and the end result became an aggregated facade.

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3

to•pol•o•gy (n)
The study of the properties of geometric forms that remain invariant under certain transformations, as bending or stretching
to•pog•ra•phy (n)
1. The relief features or surface configuration of an area
2. A schema of a structural entity (the mind, field of study,
society) reflecting a division into distinct areas having a
specific relation or position to one another

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Surface Deformation - CNC Milled Prototype

“Mantis” by Ali K. Qureshi

Mantis + Voronoi Wall + Container = Basel

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Surface Deformation - 3D Printed Prototype

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STUDIES IN PROTOTYPING

The techniques learned in Digital Fabrication were quickly put to use on a larger scale. Exercises in
using any and all available tools for fabrication were encouraged, and experimentation became a
necessity. But to jump scale was certainly a challenge; from a theoretical patternization, to prototyping as a microcosm, and ultimately building full-scale so that interaction could be put to the test; all
led to roadblocks and obstacles. Planning, material gathering, and a series of trials and errors with
unfamiliar machinery did lead to positive results.
I quickly learned that experimentation does not trump design, nor vice versa, but rather complements the other. One does not find the boundaries of a design without pushing its physical limitations
and that of your own. I felt the process behind the build, from determining proper materials and
tools, create software-compatible models to a limited cutting space, and techniques in assemblage,
were more important than the final model itself. I was more content in the process of prototyping.
Error also played a role in the design process. What seemed like â&#x20AC;&#x153;battle woundsâ&#x20AC;? were made in the
panels, which added to the learning experience. Instead of disguising these wounds, I opted to make
them evident as a reminder that the prototype is never perfect, but meant to serve as an example.
Lacerations in the material (similar to a self-inflicted wound made while making a simple studio
model) cited empathy with the material. Realizing this, the prototype almost gained humanistic tendencies. Like the material, I had my own scars from design. From here, a relationship was built with
the design, and I opted to expose these flaws, rather than hiding them. I felt there was beauty in
the imperfection.

4â&#x20AC;&#x2122; x 6â&#x20AC;&#x2122; partial proposal for wallpartition using the Voronoi panels.
Each panel was milled doublesided to allow for visual access
from either side. It was designed
to be a mixed-use surface that
would allow for sound-dampening,
light filtering, and visual engagement with the user and the space

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REACTION-BASED DESIGN

Intrigued by the concept of tracking movement through space, I sought to investigate relationships
between people and the spaces we occupy. The previous projects were studies into surface manipulation and brushed the idea of occupation. But to explore the precise relationships we have with stimuli
around us I needed a more scientific approach. This was achieved at the culmination of Design Studio
where we were asked to partake of a semester long design-build for an installation that was meant
to stage an event: a presentation of Grad 2 students and their definitions for “mobile architecture”.
To stage an event we needed to know our space, the School of Architecture, inside and out. We also
had to approach the assignment along the guidelines of The Art of War by Sun Tzu
Polemics arose: Was the real “enemy” the physical construct of the school, our gripes and means to
correct how we felt movement should circulate? Or the establishment with its impositions and restrictions for event holding and engagement? Were the students its “supplies”, and if so, by distracting
them with event are we choking off the opponent’s life-source? What means could we devise to “attack” through architecture and come out victorious?
The result became an all-out engagement of the senses, using visual, audible, and constructed mediums. From this spawned further experimentation in engaging users from their normal routine of
movement, and instead diverting them to occupy new spaces. This was done with a series of customdesigned seating placed in areas adjacent to classrooms and alcoves found around the school. These
pieces soon took a life of their own, adopted by the general population and assimilated into the “local
culture”. New configurations were made outside of the ones initially anticipated, and circulation was
stunted whereas a normal user would simply brush past an area without thought. In the end, we felt
these investigations and installations became a success for their function: to question who determines path in a space and giving control to the masses, not the establishment.

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Diagrammatic study of the Battle of Al Alamein, 1942

20

ARCH
PER
IMA

Spatial relationships from the Battle of Al Alamein contributed to the organization of strategies to “engage”
users within the defined space. To bring forth users
into the space, we staged an event which we allied
ourselves to the current Grad class to bring forth their
representations of “mobile architecture” and further
study the movements of people within a defined space.

www.archperima.blogspot.com

Installation Strategem - Floor Plan

architecture
fashion
show

pca courtyard
01.29.09
6pm

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REACTION-BASED DESIGN PT. 2

As an addendum to the previous design-build project regarding circulation versus stimuli, my design
partner and I felt it was necessary to coordinate an “attack” on our enemy, the given establishment
of circulation and path
In order to create a dialogue with the context the forms are inserted within, inspiration is drawn from
the conceptual process used by Bernard Tschumi in his design of the generators of FIU’s School of Architecture. The forms are meant to portray the process erosion due to the forces of compressed circulation that results from the placement of these spatial obstructions inside an already ‘hemmed-in’ space.
While the overall forces of the newly created circulatory paths inform the overall distortion
of the forms, a more intense erosion occurs on the faces in direct contact with these forces.
Similarly, ‘webbed’ residual surfaces are formed when the obstruction is bifurcated to create variable
seating conditions.